Your LinkedIn summary is an important window to your experience, capabilities, goals and aspirations.

The tone of your summary can show your personality and tell a recruiter or potential client if you are an individual they would like to ‘invest’ in. This is a summary after all so feel free to touch upon all things important from elsewhere on your profile. While there is a 3,000-word limit, four paragraphs may be more beneficial for keeping reader interest and to ensure you have relevant worthy words to share.

Here are five tips to keep your ABOUT summary vibrant and fresh, keeping why we do the things you do in perspective.

Tone – Use a less formal personal tone to create an emotional bond with your reader. Your goal is to make them envision you the person through this profile, and the “About” tab is one of the easiest places to build in personality.

Affinities – Think about the reaction of your reader. Think about the elements they might find most important about you. This is your personal sales pitch for them to decide whether they want to interact. And like any pitch, let them read what they want to read – not just what you want to tell them.

Significance – Write about projects or significant ventures which show your true strength and have made a difference in your company or your career. Show them your ability – but don’t get stuck in the mud of detailed explanation. This is after all a summary.

Responsibility and passion – Write about your responsibilities in your current role, and above all ensure your passion for the role comes through. People are more likely to react with someone who is passionate. It says they care. It says they’ll take care of every detail. It says you’re more likely to win. Everyone likes a winner.

Your relationship with the customer – Whatever we do, it’s because there is a marketplace for our product or service. We are at our best when we serve that customer or client. Let your understanding of the critical importance of meeting the customer need come through in your summary. That will prove no matter the challenge you have the most important end user in mind.

You’ll see some people take advantage of the About and write a long and involved essay on their many skills and capabilities. For my teste, I prefer a short couple of paragraphs, augmented by a bulleted list of capabilities or product/service offerings in the present day.

Once again, it is only a summary.

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